#ritsurei

“Rei-chan,” Rinne intervened before the vampire could absentmindedly pour himself his sixth serving, “Ya good there, buddy?”

There was a two-second delay, and the following non-committal “I’m perfectly fine” was not convincing in the least. Thin fingers had the glass held not too far below its rim, appearing so loose that Rinne could vividly visualize it slipping from those fingertips and shattering upon the table into a million pieces.

Rei let the object be taken from his unsteady grip—or rather, he was intoxicated enough to not pay the sudden removal any mind. The redhead silently observed, not knowing exactly what to do, as the effects of alcohol seemed to seep into the younger man’s blood, slowly pulling on dark eyelashes to the brim of shutting hazy red orbs away from the world.

“Hey,” the redhead lightly shook the vampire’s shoulder, biting back a laugh when that elicited from the raven-haired a drawled, tired whine, “Ya boy’s here to grace ya an ear to talk to. If something’s on yer mind, better get it out, yeah?”

UNDEAD returning from their SS qualifying rounds in some desert he could not bother to know the name of might had something to do with that.

That was either a shrug as a response or a sign that the great Sakuma Rei needed a surface to lie down and pass out on. Rinne took it as a decline to his offer. He wouldn’t hold it against Rei to be uncomfortable sharing - given how their late conversations over adult beverages had always been going smoothly with Rinne doing ninety percent of the speaking and the other only giving his remarks at the right moment to drive him on - but it bothered him quite a bit to see a person in distress without really being able to help.

Rinne excused himself to fetch the half-asleep young man some water, only for him to return to the demon king dozing off over the table, fortunately not (yet) knocking off any of the half-empty bottles onto the floor.  

“Rei-chan, ya alive?”

The bee jabbed the bat’s left cheek, receiving zero response.

That was it. Sakuma Rei was officially dead.

Crazy:B’s leader sighed loudly. While he definitely could, and he believed Rei would have preferred, leave the vampire there to sleep the alcohol away, he wouldn’t want to be suspected of murdering RhyLin’s beloved idol representative. Maybe he could tamper with Rei’s phone and contact one of the fellow UNDEAD members, but he doubted any of them were awake, considering it had long passed midnight or wanted to hear from a man they probably still hold a grudge against. Or, perhaps, he could try his luck and shake the vampire awake (aborted as soon as Rei started incoherently mumbling in his sleep because Rinne simply cannot). Weighing his options while hastily cleaning their mess into something slightly more presentable, the redhead finalized on one of the sofas in Seisou’s commons. The furniture is comfortable enough, certified by none other than your esteemed Amagi Rinne himself, and they could easily avoid bothering anyone during the unholy hour.

(He had taken into account the fact that Rei, though shorter than him, is a tall man. If his feet stick out from the cushion, then it would be a Rei problem.)

“Ya better appreciate all the things I’m doin’ for ya, Rei-chan.”

Disposing of all traces of drinking without waking the Sakuma up was easy as pie. Figuring out how to and actually hauling the man into a bridal carry took some more effort. Rei felt much lighter than he looks, resting contentedly in Rinne’s arm, as unaware as a child, suddenly reminding the bee that despite the know-it-all old man front, the demon king had just barely entered his 20’s. Rei unconsciously dropped his head against Rinne’s shoulder, and the oldest Amagi internally swore to pry the story behind that eccentric behavior the next time they meet up.

He hit the switch with his arms, wincing as the light went off with a “poof”, leaving him to adjust his sight to the sudden darkness. The hallway was pitch black, appearing much longer than he ever recalled it to be, as if mocking Rinne for not pulling out his phone earlier before his hands became very literally full. The Sakuma’s breathing was felt through his T-shirt, annoyingly and distractingly warm, causing him to curse under his breath, regretting all the decisions leading to this very moment.

Well, it wasn’t like he can turn back time either. Might as well make things quick then head back to his room—

“Good morning, Amagi-san.”

Rinne-half jumped from the sudden whisper behind them. Rei stirred slightly in his arm at the jerk yet, unfortunately, remained perfectly asleep. The bee turned on his heel, momentarily believed he was hallucinating because there was a miniature version of the vampire standing behind him, waving lazily while stifling a yawn. Sleepy eyes scanned him from head to toe, darkened as it lingered on the unconscious figure in his arms before silently met with his own pair of cobalt, wordlessly demanding an explanation.

It took Rinne a moment or two to realize that the boy looked like a little Sakuma because he actually is one.

“Rei-chan’s drunk,” there wasn’t a need to be dishonest. Rinne adjusted his hold on Rei as if the gesture proves his point, “So ya boy‘s about to tuck him in.”

Younger Sakuma quirked an eyebrow, not appearing too convinced.

“Look, Ricchan, ya boy has no reason to mess with his only legal drinking buddy, alright?” Rinne rolled his eyes, exasperated. He didn’t remember the gossips telling these two were particularly on good terms, “These arms are pretty much dead right now, so-”

“Sorry for the trouble my idiotic anija has caused you, Amagi-san,” Ritsu cut him off, taking a step forward, and at the redhead’s surprise, extended his arms, “He’s intelligent, but he doesn’t think sometimes. I’ll take him back to my room nearby. Mikarin isn’t gonna return from France until tomorrow, so I have a spare bed to dump him into.”

Rinne wasn’t lying when he said his arms were dying, but he would feel kinda bad if he ended up causing someone else’s arms to fall off.

“Ya sure, buddy? Rei-chan should be heavy for ya.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m stronger than I may appear, Amagi-san.”

The wording of that offer wasn’t too reassuring, but Rinne found himself rather accepting than questioning it further while facing a smile that didn’t reach the other’s ruby orbs. As soon as the bee removed Rei’s loose cling on his T-shirt to put him half-hanging over his younger brother’s shoulder, Ritsu instantly wrapped an arm over the older man’s waist, appearing almost protective and possessive if Crazy:B’s leader didn’t know any better.

The younger Sakuma clicked his tongue, muttering “stupid” and “heavy” under his breath, yet throwing another arm around Rei’s hips anyways before taking his time and effort into shuffling his big brother into a position more comfortable for them both. Their height difference left the older brother’s feet to unceremoniously drag against the floor with Ritsu’s every move, and when pointed out by Rinne, the only reaction from that young man was a shrug that said “serves him right”.

“It’s easier if ya carry him on yer back.”

Rinne swallowed back a whistle, catching a glare the other briefly threw at him with a grin and a shake of his hands. He didn’t miss the soft mumble escaping Rei when the arms around him momentarily tightened up.

Maybe his intuitions hadn’t been too far off the mark. Things like that happen sometimes, yeah?

“This is fine. Thanks again, Amagi-san,” Ritsu did a good job keeping up with being polite until the end, “If you’ll excuse me-“

“Does Rei-chan know?”

“…Pardon?”

The bee gestured vaguely, inappropriately enjoying how Ritsu took a step backwards defensively as his eyes widened slightly in utter bewilderment. The young Sakuma shoulder visibly tensed. He bit on his lower lips, fingers digging into his older brother’s clothes, taking on the appearance of a small carnivore protecting his precious dinner from a potential rival about twice his size. Rinne raised an eyebrow, fully prepared to laugh it off and messed the head of raven hair up once he had his dose of joy teasing the younger man, never expecting an actual reply to his half-hearted question.

“I assume we’re referring to the same thing,” Ritsu broke the eye contact, lowering his eyes to look at the sleeping figure in his arms. His gaze—albeit barely noticeable—softened for a single second, “I’m sure he doesn’t. Anija isn’t that good at reading others like he often comes off as. I don’t intend to let him know, either.”

“His tendency to be overly affectionate only stems from familial love. He’d only be more annoying if he ever finds out. I’m saving myself from trouble that way. Does that satisfy you?”

It was Rinne’s turn to be rendered speechless, unable to tell how much of that answer was the truth. The reaction, surprisingly, allowed Ritsu a confident boost. He stood up straight, did some final adjustments to the way Rei was held, before staring meaningfully at the taller man.

“Ya boy will keep his mouth shut, so no need to sweat,” it took Rinne more than a second to catch up with the conversation, raising an arm as if taking an oath in court, “Don’t do anything bad to Rei-chan, ‘kay?”

Ritsu turned on his heels with Rei firmly supported, then left Rinne with nothing more than a whispered “I’d appreciate that'' and a “goodnight, Amagi-san”. The bee watched on as the Sakuma brothers gradually disappeared into the darkness like demons of the night they were rumored to be, finally releasing a dry chuckle and running a hand through his hair. That surely was one hell of an experience he wouldn’t want to encounter ever again.

Had Ritsu been nearby all that time, merely waiting for the perfect time to pounce, or had their meeting been nothing but a coincidence?

Hell, Rinne didn’t even have an idea of who he should be feeling sorry for.

Well, it is none of his business anyways. He wasn’t going to give his blessings, but the situation seemed thrilling in a way that caught his interest nevertheless. Maybe he would meddle if he ever gets bored, just to get a reaction from one of the calm and charismatic Sakuma brothers.